Monday, August 6, 2012
The Board of Selectmen will be continuing their discussion on how to meet the town's need for a new Town Yard.
At their Monday meeting, selectmen will be discussing the Town Yard replacement project and how the town can provide all of the services that a new Town Yard would provide. Annual Town Meeting voted not to fund an $18 million Town Yard at Campanelli Drive in May. The board has recently been discussing the possibility of splitting up the Town Yard's functions, such as the salt shed, water shop or tree department, among several different sites. They have been discussing putting the different pieces on sites on Red Spring Road, Forest Street, Ledge Road, Campanelli Road and Lewis Street. The Board of Selectmen will also discuss a new fee structure proposed for electrical, plumbing and gas permits, and vote to ratify a tax increment financing …
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
This week's You Ask...Patch Answers addresses the Town Yard replacement project.
What is happening with the Town Yard replacement project? An $18 million replacement of the Town Yard, off Lewis Street, went before Town Meeting in late April for approval from voters. Both the Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen voted not to support the project, claiming that that plan was not ideal for the town and the voters agreed. This past project design was created by a Town Yard Task Force that is the third of its kind in ten years. Selectman Alex Vispoli said that the town yard project has to go back to the Board of Selectmen and the board needs to decide how this process should be changed. "We are working to get consensus on how to solve the problem," said Vispoli. Vispoli said that, as far as building consensus, it needs …
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Many town officials voted against the Town Yard project at Town Meeting.
The Town Yard Task Force is the third of its kind in recent years and worked to produce a proposal to replace the aging Town Yard for Annual Town Meeting last night. However, many town officials, such as selectmen and Finance Committee members, moved to withdraw the article due to many factors, include the price of the 15-acre parcel where the new Town Yard would sit on Campanelli Drive. However, many argued that land will only get more expensive as time goes on and that this year was the time to do it, especially before the current Town Yard gets any worse. Do you think passing up the Town Yard at Town Meeting was a good idea? Let us know why or why not in the comments section below?
Selectmen and Finance Committee members supported the withdrawal of the article asking for $18 million for a new Town Yard.
Andover voters narrowly defeated an article asking for over $18 million for a new Town Yard at the start of the Annual Town Meeting Monday night at the Andover High School field house. Despite the time taken by the Town Yard Task Force to propose a new facility at Campanelli Drive, the majority of members on both the Board of Selectmen and Finance Committee supported the withdrawal of the article during the meeting. They cited many reasons for wanting to withdraw the article, with the high cost of the land purchase being the main reason. Voters chose not to withdraw the article but discussed it. However, the project failed to gain two-thirds of voters, with 181 in favor and 137 opposed. Selectmen and Finance Committee members that …
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Town boards and committees must soon make a recommendation on the article asking the town for 18.3 million to build a new town yard on Campanelli Drive.
Andover town officials discussed some of the final details on the $18.3 million Town Yard replacement project Monday night. Selectmen chairman Brian Major said that the town has two weeks to iron out all remaining details before taking the fund request to spring Town Meeting on Monday, April 30. The Town Yard Task Force, meeting with the selectmen and Finance Committee Monday night, has recommended moving the current Town Yard on Lewis Street to a new site off Campanelli road that should be able to service the town for the next 50 years. The project involves purchasing a 16-acre lot of land off at 5 Campanelli Drive, 7 acres of which would be used for the new Town Yard. Officials say the purchase will also provide community access to the …
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Take a look at what readers said about the town yard project and the decision to fund it at Town Meeting this spring.
A task force has studied the town yard and town officials say that it is clear that Andover needs a new town yard in order to operate the town. Officials also say construction costs will only go up as time goes on and feel that this year's spring Town Meeting is the place to fund it. But with budgets still tight and a Bancroft School almost ready to be built, is now the time to build a new town yard? Last Tuesday we asked this question and 41 readers had this to say:
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Do you think now is the time to replace Andover's Town Yard?
A task force has studied the town yard and town officials say that it is clear that Andover needs a new town yard in order to operate the town. Officials also say construction costs will only go up as time goes on and feel that this year's spring Town Meeting is the place to fund it. But with budgets still tight and a Bancroft School almost ready to be built, is now the time to build a new town yard? Let us know why or why not in the comments section below.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Town officials are preparing to ask voters for the funding for a much-needed new town yard.
The town is looking to replace the nearly 50-year-old town yard on Lewis Street with a brand new facility off Campanelli Drive. The Town Yard Task Force, which has been studying the project for over two years, presented their final findings to a joint meeting last week. The town yard, which is used to house all of the vehicles and equipment that make the town run, has been in need of a replacement, according to officials, for some time now. Space needs and structural deficiencies are only some of the issues with the current site. Based on numerous factors such as distance from a highway and residential neighbors, the Town Yard Task Force found a plot of land off of Campanelli Drive to be the top choice by far, according to Town Yard Task …
Mark Merritt
10:07 am on Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Actually, it was the Town Yard Task Force that moved withdrawl. The Selectmen and Finance Committee recommended disapproval. more ›